Coopers Plains Suburban Renewal
CONTAMINATED LAND IN PRIME POSITION ON NEW LEASE OF LIFE
Ranbury was engaged by Aurizon in 2007 to determine the most appropriate approach to remediate and sell a contaminated 17ha site right across the Ross River from the Townsville CBD; a prime position for a landmark development, with a very similar vantage as the famous South Bank site in the city of Brisbane.
The sales strategy our Property team developed generated significant competitive interest for the site and resulted in a premium sale despite the site still being contaminated and under the remediation process. This sale exceeded our client’s expectation by $10M.
As well as developing the site’s disposal strategy, we managed all aspects of the disposal including interfacing with real estate agents, legal advisers and environmental consultants. Our role remains ongoing and we are now responsible for monitoring the developer’s compliance with various terms and conditions of the development agreement.
Originally our work included developing the sale methodology, appointing marketing agents, formulating EOI documentation, conducting sale negotiations and monitoring the contract to settlement.
We advised Aurizon on the site’s ideal settlement terms and conditions, which were presented in a development agreement. The agreement required the purchaser to prepare a master plan for the precinct, to subdivide the parcel in accordance with that plan and to remediate the site in accordance with the Department of Environment and Resource Management’s requirements.
Unwanted land transformed into a prime development site for a growing city, a “win-win-win” for the city, the client, and the future of Townsville…a testament to Ranbury’s skilled team approach.
Our innovative sales strategy meant Aurizon was able to continue to occupy the site (at no cost) post-transfer of the land during the purchasers planning approvals process.
The site was also sold with conditions that the purchaser complete site remediation, which reduced Aurizon’s liability to clear the contamination.
Our work on this project has been recognised as having achieved significantly greater than market value for the site and ensured that the purchasers could not avoid their completion and post-completion responsibilities.
17ha site sold for $10M above owner’s expectations
Reduced client exposure for contamination liability
Facilitates a “city-building” development opportunity
